Past Sermon

Sermon Title: "Singing Our Praise and Praying Our Needs "
Date: October 1, 2006
Minister: Rev. Charles E. Ensley, Jr.

Lesson:  James 5:13-20

There are those who complain that so often the Bible deals with concerns other than the nitty-gritty vexations of everyday life.  How can a book written and compiled between nineteen hundred and three thousand years ago possibly address the situations we face in our 21st century world, or even in the midst of our own congregation?

Before answering that question, let’s take a moment to look at the possible authorship of the letter of James. 

Early scholars believed it was written by “James the brother of the Lord.”  If so, it would define Jewish Christianity in Palestine in the first generation after Jesus, somewhere between the years 30 and 62.  The challenges to authorship by Jesus’ brother are two:  First, the writing seems to presuppose Paul’s letters to the Galatians and Romans, and thus must come from a time after the first generation.  Second, the Greek style of the letter is too fine for a Palestinian Jew with likely little education to have written.  Many scholars, therefore, consider James to be written by an unknown author; thus, it has been dated variously between 100 and 150 A.D. 

My point in taking you on this inconclusive detour is that it doesn’t matter exactly by whom or when it was written.  If everyone can agree that it was written by someone who lived in Palestine between the time of Jesus and the middle of the second century, it gives us an insight into what the earliest Christian communities were doing.  And if you look closely at what James has written, the earliest Christians knew life just as we know it in our congregation—where people sometimes have difficulty getting along with one another, where they may disagree over some social, political or financial issue, where there are those who are sick and in great need.  And in the middle of it all is some singing and joy.  Just like here at Bay Shore Church, and most likely any other church with which you’ve ever been associated.

“Are any cheerful?” James asks.  “They should sing songs of praise.”  How do we begin our worship each Sunday?  The opening hymn is usually a glorious hymn of praise.  This morning’s was “Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above.”  Last Sunday’s was “When Morning Gilds the Skies.”  We come into God’s presence first to praise God and glorify God’s name and what God does for us and this world.

Much more of James’ letter, though, is an invitation to explore the nature of intercessory prayer.  The words “pray” and “prayer” are used seven times in these eight verses.  Every Sunday, when the church gathers, we make supplication for the needs within our congregation, among your family, friends and co-workers, and the world.  James says that those who are in need ought to pray, ought to expect that God cares about their needs and longs to be with them in their times of struggle.

James realizes in the earliest Christian communities, as in our churches today, there is among us a diversity of gifts for ministry.  Some within the congregation have the gift of intercession.  Their need may make them particularly sensitive to the needs of others.  Let them lead us in our prayers, in seeking the divine will and healing for our pain.  Others may excel in the ministry of cheerful encouragement.  Let them sing.  Let them lead us in our praise to God.

Thus, the congregation of worshipping Christians is a place where there is honest expression of need and pain alongside exuberant and joyful jubilation.  Some Sundays there is more of one than another, just as on any given Sunday there may be more sadness and need in your life than joy and cheer.  Both types of humanity have a home in the church.

A congregation that is all hale, hearty and well-met, everyone grinning and happy, can place a superficial wrapping over the good news of Christ.  As James notes, in any honest church there is suffering (v. 13), sickness (v. 14) and sin (vv. 16, 20).  We believe that we have a foretaste here in the church, of the kingdom of heaven.  Some even assert heaven is here on earth!  But we are not there yet.  The kingdom of God in Christ is not here in its fullness, not by a long shot.  There must be room in any Sunday service, or in the life of any faithful congregation, for honesty about our need, our not having all that our hearts desire.  Not yet.

On the other hand, a congregation that never really sings, where there is never an opportunity for cheer and the Sunday experience of Easter, is not a faithful church.  I can still hear my preaching professor tell us 36 years ago that Martin Luther believed every Sunday was a little Easter and ought to be celebrated as such.

Somehow Jesus gives us the means to be both honest and hopeful.  To be sure, in the present time, there is much cause of weeping.  Many of our blue prayer cards each week are for those struggling with cancer.  Listen on any given Sunday how many times we pray “for the soul of …” someone.  That means people out there in our pews are mourning, hurting, feeling the loss of a loved one.  We hear of prayers for peace, and for protection for those fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Sometimes singing is not easy amid the pain of this world.  And yet, by the grace of God, our prayers are heard, our songs are sung faithfully Sunday after Sunday, and we are filled with hopeful cheer.

This is the rhythm that is part of the church’s life.  Some Sundays you come just wanting to sing for joy.  Some Sundays you come just waiting to pray.  This twofold faithfulness is at the very heart of Christ’s gospel.  The church—this church, other churches you’ve known, every Christian church on this World Communion Sunday, no matter in what language they worship or pray—is where we both pray for our great need, and also sing because of our great joy in the love of God in Jesus Christ.